Laminated textile threads



Dec. 25, 1962 w. e. SCHARF LAMINATED TEXTILE THREADS Filed May 20, 1957MYLAR CLEAR ADHESIVE METAL FOIL ADHESIVE MYLAR KMYLAR CLEAR ADHESIVEMYLAR CHROME FLEX N 0 T o c INVENTOR. WALTER 6. SCHARF ATTORNEYS FilmCompany Inc. New York N.Y. a cor oration of New York v p FiiedMay 20,1157, Ser. No. 660,230 5 Claims. (U. 2880) The present invention relatesgenerally to textiles and more particularly to laminated textile threadswhich may be selectively dyed to create variegated decorative effects.

The use of metalized threads in fabric design is of an ancient origin,such threads serving to enhance the beauty of the material and to imparta distinctive glitter thereto. To obviate the drawbacks inherent inmetalized threads having a core or base of natural fiber, it has beenthe practice in recent years to form such threads with thermoplasticmaterials of superior tensile strength.

In one known commercial form, the thread is constituted by a laminatedcontinuous material made up of at least two normally transparent plasticstrips with a strip of metal foil interposed therebetween. The variousstrips are bonded together by means of an appropriate adhesive. Inanother form of metalized thread, in lieu of metal foil, a thin depositof metal is coated on one surface of a base ribbon, a second ribbonbeing secured by adhesive to the coated surface of the first ribbon.These ribbons may be composed of cellulosic material, such as cellulosebutyrate, although non-cellulosic lamina may also be used, such as filmsof polymerized ethylene glycol terephthalate known industrially asMylar. v

The metalized thread is highly lustrous and when woven, knitted,braided, plaited or otherwise fabricated will produce fabrics of highlyornamental appearance. The fabricated material may be constitutedentirely of metalized thread, so that in the case of woven fabrics themetalized threads form both the warp and woof of the fabric.Alternatively, the metalized threads may be combined with other knownthreads, such as those formed of cotton, rayon, wool, silk and the like.

conventionally, the color of a metalized thread is determined by thenature of'the metal layer, or by color efiects produced by pigmentationadded to the plastic base on which the metal is deposited and theplastic layer laminated to the metal. Since the sparkle of the thread isdetermined largely, by the metal, the dyestutf imparted to theplastic'strips tends to dull the resultant coloration, and the thread islacking in brilliance or richness.

Another drawback to colored metalized threads resides in the fact thatsince the thread is furnished to the converter in colored form, thepattern possibilities are distinctly limited. The converter is unable,as with ordinary threads, to weave the threads in the greige, andthereafter to dye or cross-dye the material so as to obtain desiredornamental effects. The converter therefore is restricted in his coloreffects to the range of colors available in metalized threads.

In view of the foregoing, it is the principal object of the presentinvention to provide a laminated textile thread which may be selectivelydyed to create variegated decorative effects.

More particularly it is an object of the invention to provide alaminated thread in which the plies of the thread are bonded togetherwith a clear adhesive, the structure of the thread being such that whensubjected to a dye bath, color is picked up solely by the adhesive. Afeature of the invention resides in the fact that when the laminatedthread is interwoven with threads of conventional construction and thewoven fabric is thereafter cross-dyed, the laminated threads and theconventional threads are caused to exhibit diiterent color effects.

Briefly stated, the thread in accordance with the invennite rates atentPatented Dec. 25, 1962 tion is constituted by arelatively narrowlaminated continuous material formed of at least two plies of. a transyarn such as cotton or rayon, such that by cross-dyeing,

different colors may be imparted to the laminated thread and thebackground yarn.

For a better understanding of the invention as well as other objects andfurther features thereof, reference is bad to the following detaileddescription to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawingwherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of one preferred form of laminated thread inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the thread shownin FIG. 1. a

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of alaminated thread in accordance. with'the invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a woven fabric including threads of thetype-shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the thread shown is constituted byrelatively narrow plies 10 and 11 of transparent plastic material bondedto either side of a strip of metal foil 12 by layers of adhesive 13 and14. Plies 10 and 11 are preferably formed of polymerized ethylene glycolterephthalate known commercially as Mylar.- The .metal foil 12interposed between the plies may be formed of lead, tin or aluminum,whereby the laminated thread in absence of further pigmentation has asilvery appearance.

Among the types of adhesive which are suitable are plastic, synthetic ornatural resins of the requisite degree of tackiness, or resins inconjunction with a plasticizer. To the resin and plasticizer may beadded a cellulose derivative, suchas nitrocellulose or cellulose etherswith other modifying ingredients. A quantity of an appropriate volatilesolvent may be included to impart the desired viscosity to the adhesive.i T

To produce the thread shown in FIGS. 1 and2, the selected adhesive isapplied to at least one of the opposed surfaces of the two materials tobe united, the materials then being'laminated under heat and pressure.This can be accomplished in a continuous manner by a laminat ingmechanism including pairs of pressure rollers adapted to bring the websinto intimate contact. In this procedure the materials to be laminatedare initially in the form of relatively broad webs of the selected filmand foil. After lamination, the material is slit into narrow strands orthreads of the desired width. The threads are formed by straight cutsmade perpendicular to the plane of the web so that they have sharp andwell-defined longitudinal edges whereby the edges of the adhesive layersare exposed.

To color the thread, it is dyed with one of a number of different typesof dye which does not allect the clear Mylar plies but is picked up bythe adhesive layers. This re sults in a yarn of metallic colorrepresenting the combined effect of the silvery foil and the dye. Due tothe transparent character of the Mylar plies and the fact that the coloris restricted to the adhesive, the resultant yarn will have a lustrousmetallic appearance closely resembling and simulating pure metallicfoil.

For example, dispersed acetate dyes, such as those produced commerciallyby Geigy Laboratories under the names Setacyl and Gycoluce have anafiinity for the resinous adhesive layers and are absorbed thereby.These dyes do not however affect the Mylar plies. On the other hand,direct dyes, such as Geigys Diphenyl, Solophenyl and Cuprophenyl have noeffect on the laminated thread e and are picked up neither by the Mylarnor the adhesive. Such direct dyes will however be picked up by cotton,rayon and other cellulosics.

Thus cross-"dyeing effect can be produced .by interweaving the laminatedthread, represented by threads 15 in FIG. 4, with ordinary threads 16such as cotton or rayon.

The laminated thread may be of the type known cmmercially as ChromeFlex. The woven fabric is first dyed with Gycoluce colors which arepicked up by the adhesive in the laminated threads 15. The cotton orrayon is then cleared with a suitable solution such as sodiumhydrosulphite. Finally, the cellulosic fibers are dyed with direct dyeswithout affecting the appearance of the laminated threads. It will beappreciated that a wide range of decorative effects is thus madepossible and the converter is not limited to particular colors in themetalized threads as in the past. The dyeing operation after weaving maybe in accordance with well known cross-dyeing, over-dyeing orunion-dyeing techniques.

As shown in FIG. 3, the metal foil may be eliminated and the threadcomposed merely of Mylar plies and 11 bonded together by an adhesivelayer 13. As in the case of FIG. 1, the adhesive is constituted by amaterial having an aifinity for a dye not picked up by the Mylar plies.

Acetate dyes, such as Gycoluce and Setacyl are also compatible withDacron and nylon as well as the resinous adhesive layers in thelaminated thread disclosed above. Thus when dyeing nylon as abackground, certain limitations exist. Whatever dye goes onto thelaminated thread also is taken up by the nylon, hence an effect to beproduced must carry with it the base shade of the laminated thread. Forexample, if the laminated thread is dyed red, then the nylon backgroundcannot be yellow orgreen,

but must be a shade which carries red as a component, such as orange,blue, purple or a red shade of navy. If the depth of shade on thelaminated thread is light, then there can be larger ranges ofcontrasting shades. But if the depth is heavy, then the possibilitiesare more limited.

While there has been shown what is considered to be a preferredembodiment of the invention, it will be manifest that many changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the essentialspirit of the invention. In lieu of metal foil a metallic layer may beformed on the'base web by the well known evaporation technique. It isintended, therefore, in the annexed claims to cover all such changes andmodifications as fall within the 'truescope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A cross-dyed fabric comprising a first yarn constituted .by two pliesof transparent plastic material and a layer of clear adhesive disposedbetween said plies and having an affinity for a predetermined first dyewhich is incompatible with said plies, and a second non-laminated yarninterwoven with said first yarn and formed of a material unaffected bysaid dye and responsive to a second dye, said fabric being selectivelycolored by said dyes.

2.'A cross-dyed fabric comprising a first yarn constituted by two pliesof transparent Mylar, a ply of metal foil and layers of clear adhesivebonding said Mylar plies to opposite sides of said foil, said adhesivehaving an affinity for a predetermined dye which does not affect saidMylar, and a second non-laminated yarn interwoven with said first yarnand formed of a material unaffected by said predetermined dye andresponsive to a second dye, said fabric being selectively colored bysaid dyes.

3. A fabric as set forth in claim 2, wherein said second yarn is formedof .cellulosic fibers.

4. A cross-dyed fabric comprising a first yarn constituted by two pliesof transparent Mylar bonded together by a layer of clear adhesive havingan aflinity for a predetermined dye Which is incompatible with saidplies, and a second non-laminated yarn interwoven with said first yarnand formed of a material incompatible with said predetermined dye andresponsive to a second dye, said fabric being selectively colored bysaid dyes.

5. A fabric as set forth in claim 4, wherein said adhesive isconstituted by a resin in conjunction with a plasticizer to which isadded a cellulose derivative.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,810,438 Rado June 16, 1931 1,913,397 Knecht June 13, 1933 2,087,389Stark July 20, 1937 2,129,504 Prindle Sept. 6, 1938 2,325,972 Nussleinet al Aug. 3, 1943 2,531,234 Seckel Nov. 21, 1950 2,714,569 Prindle etal Aug. 2, 1955 2,740,184 Thomas Apr. 3, 1956 2,772,943 Hiller Dec. 4,1956 2,772,994 Lacy Dec. 4, 1956 2,804,098 Walters Aug. 27, 19572,804,886 White Sept. 3, 1957 OTHER REFERENCES How to Piece Dye MetallicYarns, Modern Textiles Magazine, March 1955, pages 54 and 86 relied on.

1. A CROSS-DYED FABRIC COMPRISING A FIRST YARN CONSTITUTED BY TWO PLIESOF TRANSPARENT PLASTIC MATERIAL AND A LAYER OF CLEAR ADHESIVE DISPOSEDBETWEEN SAID PLIES AND HAVING AN AFFINITY FOR A PREDETERMINED FIRST DYEWHICH IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH SAID PLIES, AND A SECOND NON-LAMINATED YARNINTERWOVEN WITH SAID FIRST YARN AND FORMED OF A